Chen Wenqing, secretary of the Chinese Communist Party’s Central Political and Legal Affairs Commission, has called for clearer criteria for identifying new forms of organised and gang-related crime as China intensifies its crackdown. He also urged sustained efforts to dismantle networks of official protection, cut off criminal funding and strengthen oversight of industries to eliminate the conditions that allow criminal gangs to thrive.
According to Xinhua, Chen chaired a meeting on Saturday (24 October), where he stressed the need to advance the intensified crackdown in an orderly and substantive manner, “responding to the public’s expectations with tangible results”.
Chinese authorities announced the year-long intensified crackdown in late July, building on regular enforcement efforts introduced in 2021 to target criminal gangs that exploit online platforms and use non-physical coercion. The first round of raids in August broke up more than 1,000 criminal gangs and led to the arrest of more than 8,200 offenders.
Analysts say that as criminal gangs continue to evolve, and current economic and employment pressures fuel anger at the grassroots, the authorities need to prevent gangs from exploiting these conditions to expand their influence, in order to maintain social stability.
At Saturday’s meeting, Chen acknowledged the results achieved since the crackdown began. Outlining the next phase, he called for more thorough efforts to uncover leads, stronger analysis and assessment, and improved operational procedures to guide targeted enforcement. He also urged stronger investigative efforts, saying: “We must always focus our efforts on the organised and gang-related crimes that evoke the strongest public concern, conduct coordinated operations against criminal networks, organise crackdowns on similar cases and press ahead with major investigations. We must pursue these crimes thoroughly and comprehensively to create a strong deterrent.”
Chen also urged better coordination throughout the enforcement and judicial process, with cases handled strictly and swiftly in accordance with the law, ensuring that “no organised or gang-related crime is overlooked, and no case that does not qualify is forced into that category”.
He also demanded a holistic approach that addresses both symptoms and root causes, by simultaneously cracking down on corrupt officials who act as ‘protective umbrellas’, cutting off criminal funding and cleaning up key industries. The conditions that allow criminal gangs to thrive must be eliminated, he said, and there must be no “places beyond the reach of the law”.
Chinese State Councillor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong attended Saturday’s meeting and delivered remarks. Supreme Court President Zhang Jun and Procurator-General of the Supreme People’s Procuratorate Ying Yong also attended.